Evaluating the expression level of miR-192 and miR-377 in serum of type 2 diabetic patients as potential biomarkers for prognosis of diabetic nephropathy

Abstract

Abstract Background Diabetic nephropathy is a common complication of diabetes, which can be prevented by early diagnosis and development. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression level of miR-192 and miR-377 in serum samples of diabetic subjects without nephropathy and diabetic nephropathy subjects to investigate these miRNAs as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of diabetic nephropathy. Methods and Results We reviewed 370 patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2D) (190 patients with diabetic nephropathy and 180 patients with diabetes without nephropathy), and 170 healthy control individuals without any history of T2D. Expression analysis of miR-192 and miR-377 was performed by Real-Time PCR. The expression level of miR-192 was significantly increased in the diabetic nephropathy and diabetic without nephropathy groups (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01). Also, the expression level of miR-377 was significantly increased in the diabetic group without nephropathy compared to the control group (P < 0.05), although miR-377 expression in the diabetic nephropathy samples was a significant decrease compared with the diabetic without nephropathy samples (P > 0.05). QRT-PCR results showed that the expressions of miR-192 and miR-377 were significantly lower and higher in the diabetic without nephropathy group than in micro-albuminuria and macro-albuminuria groups, respectively. Conclusions Overexpression of miR-192 and down-regulation of miR-377 were observed in diabetic nephropathy. Up-regulation of miR-192 can be used as a prognostic factor for diagnosing diabetic nephropathy.